The Shadow World
by lokirni
Summary: A cross over of my OC plains walker from magic the gathering being stuck in a persona shadow world and having his powers shattered into the clow cards.
1. The Shadow World

Before we get in on this, I feel like I should explain some things about myself. First, I am a plainswalker, that means I hop from world to world with a little bit of a difficulty, and any plainswalker who ever said that they could always do it with ease is either a dragon or lying. Second, I am not even close to being human. You might be saying "Well duh, you can travel between dimensions!" but I have known humans that can do that. Generally I am considered some form of elf, with slightly longer ears that end in a point, golden hair, and nice set of sharp teeth all slapped on to a humanoid form. There are times however that I resemble something more akin to a demon, with a mane of scarlet hair, blue skin that has large, layered scales on the arms, shins, and down my spine, bull horns, talon-ed hands and feet, and a lion-like tail. Occasionally, I will sprout wings if I need to get somewhere fast or by flight but mostly those are put away because having them out all the time is rather cumbersome. Third, I tend to get into some deep trouble... Like I am right now.

See I don't know what happened. One moment I was relaxing on Waikiki Beach, then the next I was falling through the Twisting Nether. And yes, this does happen a lot. Probably more often than I would like to admit.

I mean it isn't like I _enjoy_ this place. Actually, I don't think any sane being would enjoy the Twisting Nether. I am not sure if I can do it justice by explaining it, but it is like all of the power of creation and destruction all at once. A tree might explode into existence only to morph into something resembling an unborn fetus or a ferret. Landscapes will form, crack, become a living horror screaming in pain, only to change into a peaceful rain cloud. It might seem easy to imagine how this looks on one target, but this wacky shit is happening everywhere! Honestly though, if you spend too much time looking at this chaos, you might just end up as part of it. Probably best if you just focus on the single point of where ever you are going, which you can usually tell because it looks like a little star or light that isn't changing at all, and just ignore the rest.

My name is Keiy, and this is my story.

* * *

Where I landed was almost as surreal as the Twisting Nether.

 _It looks like an M. C. Escher picture in here,_ I noted, _but feels more..._

 _"...Eldritch"_ said a rumbling, hollow like voice. _"As if some dark god had crafted this world for it's own dark desires"_

"Who is there?" I asked, even though I had a feeling.

My question was answered by laughter that seemed to ooze up from the very ground, but it wasn't just the laughter that was oozing up. There was a dark, sludge like liquid snaking up from the checkered patterned tiles on the ground. It migrated into a large, vulgar looking shape before exploding with a slightly comical pop that revealed a boy. This boy, however, was obviously as human as I am.

He had a rounded face, scarlet hair, a mischievous smile and a slender frame. Sound normal right? Well what gave it away as not human was the skin and the eyes. The skin was cobalt blue, but the eyes were what was really freaky. Where it would be white on our eyes was red in one eye and blue in the other, and the iris was golden yellow in a way that seemed to glow.

This unnatural child that stood before me laughed again, saying _"I am the Shadow, I am..."_

 _"_ The True Self." I finished. It was at this moment that I realized exactly how much shit I was in.

Before I explain the predicament that I was in, let me take a moment to explain the True Self as well as the Shadow World. The True Self is actually in several philosophies across time, though the premises is always the same. The True Self is a Shadow version of you. It is the part of you that you hide out of fear or that you put away because you are embarrassed of it. It is the root to all of the things that you do and why you do them. Pretty much, it is an entity that is a part of you that you have trouble accepting or are denying. An example of a true self would be Shadow Link, who is Link's love of showing off, as well as his need to challenge himself with constant fights. Generally a True Self is stronger because it is unrestrained.

The Shadow World is an Arena created by the desires of the ones connected to it. Generally, it is set up to reflect everything that they feel, both expressed and hidden, as well as to set up a stage in which the True Self and the person in the Shadow World to fight each other. See, the True Self wants to be free from the bonds that they are put under by the person that they represent, either by acceptance or death. The Shadow World simply sets up the best stage for this.

But there are some other things to note. Shadow world are usually connected to one or two people, though in rare cases they can be connected to whole cities. The more people there are connected to it, the more Shadows will exist. These Shadows are simply monsters created by the desires of their counterpart, but only turn into the True Self when their counterpart arrives. So in short they are weaker versions of the True Self that can be defeated over an over.

This doesn't include Large Shadows, who are True Selves who have freed themselves from the bonds of their Counter Part by killing their counterpart. Those ones are extremely powerful and extremely violent.

* * *

So now that you know the basics of my current problem, you can see why I thought of myself as thoroughly fucked. I was in a Shadow World with my True Self, and I didn't know how many people this world was connected to. The worst part of it was easily my True Self though. He was a child in form, representing my desire to run away from my responsibilities, but he also had all of my powers, as well as my hidden lust for it, and my craving to show off all of that power. My only advantage was that I was accepting of it so long as no one arrived.

But, being the same entity, in a twisted manor, meant that he knew as well. I could see a smile creep up on his face as I swallowed hard, trying to wet my dry throat. It was a smile that sends shivers down one's back or that makes one shrink away like a kicked puppy. He laughed, that same rumbling, yet hollow, laugh that echoed through the maze of stairs and tunnels that we were in. _"Just so you know,"_ He stated, _"This world is connected to two cities and is a labyrinth of desires. You won't be alone for long."_

I managed to mumble the word "fuck" right as two doors opened. One was on the ceiling, or what was a ceiling from my perspective, and the other was on the wall, again from my perspective, on my left. I didn't even stay to see who it was, I just took off down the corridor to my right and prayed that it didn't lead back to the same room, or even to anyone.

My True Self laughed behind me, singing _"Run, run, run, as fast as you can! You cannot escape me! I am the Shadow Man!"_

* * *

The hallway was winding and looking down it, it appeared that the floor was twisting onto the ceiling. I blinked back the moment of vertigo from such a disorienting landscape. The more I ran the foggier it got, and the foggier my thought were. It was like the very air was drugging me. I rounded a corner that led to a covered bridge over another maze room. I liked mazes but the fog was too much. And then I heard it.

It was a shrill scream that echoed down the walk way and disoriented my vision more. I blinked and tried to rub away the blurriness, but it didn't help. After a moment I heard another scream as a large round blob flew into view. I couldn't see much, but it looked like a flying Pac Man face with an abnormally large tongue hanging out the side as it flew at me. I dodged left as soon as it got too close, thanking my honed reflexes for saving me for the moment. Unfortunately, because of how hard it was to see my surroundings, I had flung myself out a window.

I felt like I was falling down but somehow I got turned around and ended above the bridge that I was just on. Either the motion of me somehow falling up or the effect of the fog made me feel sick to my stomach. I tried to stand up and walk but the disorientation proved to be too much as I emptied my stomach onto the floor.

 _Hell,_ I thought to myself, _My Shadow World is Hell._

* * *

I rounded a few more corners and found a little nook that seemed like an ideal hiding spot from these monsters. I fitted myself into it and reached out with my psyche, both trying to get a feel of the land and trying to grab something that would help conceal me, but it was like trying to find a knife in a dirty sink if the sink was three miles long. Eventually I just said "Fuck it" and tried to meditate.

It took a moment for me to get my breath into my rhythm, but once I did, everything worked like a well oiled machine. My disorientation went away, my head didn't feel like I had just had three gallons of vodka, but when I opened my eyes, the world was still just as blurry.

 _Oh well._ I thought to myself, _At least it hasn't gotten worse yet._ I tried to summon up my wings but it was like I never had them to begin with. Out of curiosity, I tried to shift into my battle form, but that didn't work either. "Well at least it isn't unbareable yet!" I corrected myself with a sigh.

I left my little cubby hole, and set out for exploring.

* * *

Honestly, I don't think that I have ever been good at keeping out of trouble. I mean, I am usually good at fixing the problem, cleaning up some messes, and finding my way out of trouble, but keeping out of trouble? I just don't think the Fates have that in store for me. The longer that I was here, the more I lived up to that.

I had only been exploring for a bout half of an hour, which I am pretty sure was a record for me, but I encountered a group of those floating mouth shadows and I couldn't help get curious. Through this whole dungeon, I have been wondering: exactly how much of my power did my True Self get? So I saw my chance and decided to test it.

I focused my energy into my fist, stepped out into the open to get a clear shot, and punched forward, releasing my grip on my energy allowing it to fly. Now usually this would make a fireball or a large, very powerful shock wave, but this time all I got was a small bubble of energy that essentially Gibb Slapped one of the Shadows. I was hoping for all or nothing, because all would have destroyed at least one of them and nothing would have kept them from noticing me. I let out a groan and just took off running. I cant remember which direction I went but I do know that it led me strait to a dead end with a door. I tried opening it but it was locked, to naturally I banged on it and screamed "Let me in!" Which, in retrospect, was kinda stupid of me to do because I really didn't expect anyone to actually let me in. So I turned and faced my pursuers.

Right before they got to me, I was going to spring and try to weave my way in between them. Instead, something pulled me backwards through the door and slammed it shut in their faces.

"Well, well, well." Said a masculine voice behind me. "It is not often that we get someone like _you_ here."

I looked back to see who was talking to me. Who I beheld could only be described as gorgeous! He had fair skin, but it was fair in the way of someone who is naturally tan would be, if they stayed inside all day. His hair was a dark brown and his eyes shone behind a butterfly mask like jewels. He wore a tailored lavender suit with a violet tie and his smile would have fan girls for weeks.

"My associates will be with you shortly," He said, his voice calming and sweet. "Until then, please take a seat." He gestured to a fairly small table with a few chairs around it.

I blinked myself out of my stupor and went to thank him but somehow he vanished without me noticing. I took my beautiful, and now vacant, host's advice and sat down in one of the chairs, while I examined the room. It was set up like a opera house for a personal part. There was a small stage to my right as well as a piano, stage right. To my left there was a small bar with several liquors on display. Behind the bar there was an ornate rack that was made of carved wood that intersected and made diamond shape holes, each filled with a different alcohol bottle with it's cork presented to the bar.

After a few moments of looking around the vacant room, I couldn't help myself. I got up and went behind the bar to examine the other drinks who's labels were concealed to me. I had just picked one up and read "Guhnstein: 1972" off of the label when I heard a very polite, feminine voice behind me.

"Please don't." The voice said. As I turned to look at her, I saw someone almost as beautiful as the man who welcomed me. She had ash blonde, wavy hair that was pulled back with a hair band, but her bangs hung in just off to the side of her face. Her figure was lean but with a powerful and assured posture, much like a woman with experience, but it wasn't fierce. It was welcoming and warm like a teacher or a mother. Her clothes were a deep blue, long sleeved dress with four large buttons above a jet black belt, and four below the belt as well. She wore jet black panty hose with a pair of sapphire blue heels that matched her dress. Her lips were a deep red, which stood out against the blues of her dress but complimented it well. Her eyes were gold and shone with warmth. Honestly she looked like a sexy secretary and I know I failed at keeping myself from blushing as I looked at her. "Theodore likes to keep them well organized." She explained with a warm smile.

* * *

"My name is Margaret." She said as she sat down, her back facing the stage. "This room is used as a gathering point for those who have a unique gift."

"And you are an.. Interesting visitor." A new voice, this time, obviously not from Margaret. I looked up to where the voice came from and saw a man standing by the piano. He wore a simple black tuxedo with white gloves. He looked back at me, his eyes wide like a mad man's with a smile to match. His hair was stark white but his eyebrows were oddly black. This man had a hunch but it seemed to be made from a mixture of both strain and age. Idly, his hands played out a careful but sweet melody. There was something about him that was the oddest though. It wasn't that he seemed out of place, because he actually fitted in the most out of the people that I have seen here, but it was that he had this odd aura of sadness about him. "Come and sit, we have much to talk about." He told me, his voice was rough as he was old.

I put up the bottle of alcohol and joined them at the table. "My name is-" I started but was cut off by the gentleman.

"Keiy. You are a dimensional traveler. Philemon mentioned you." Igor stated. "You have a very problematic situation here."

"If, by problematic situation, you mean that I don't have most of my powers and that I have a psychotic mini-me running around," I answered sarcastically, "Then yes, you are right."

The man chuckled. "You have spirit. My name is Igor," He stated. "And of course you met the Lovely Margret." The blonde woman bowed her head politely. "We are but a few of the residents of the Velvet Room, a place that exists between spaces."

"The Reason that you have a problematic situation here is not because you have to defeat your shadow, it is that your Shadow has the power of the Wild Card, and thus can change into infinite different creatures, much like how this maze can lead to an infinite different locations. " Margaret explained. "It is peculiar, though, because most Wild Card users don't ever have to face their Shadow"

"An old foe of our dear Philemon has managed to split you from your Shadow, probably in hopes of using it as a weapon." Igor stated while looking down his comically long nose. "If you succeed, we will grant you this Key," He reached into his coat and pulled out a long key on a chain, "And you can use this room however you see fit."

I raised my eyebrow at them. "However I see fit?" I inquired.

The man nodded. "You can use it as a recovery point for when you need rest, or if you need to..." He gave a quick glance to Margaret who lifted her chin slightly with the faintest of smirks, "...Be alone with anyone."

I know I blushed hard at that statement. "Can you read minds?" I blurted out, slightly afraid of my own thoughts betraying me.

"Not in the slightest" Igor responded cheerfully as Margaret let out a chuckle. "But I can read Hearts. Similar but not nearly as precise." He paused for a moment with his hands folded under his nose. "Once you master your True Self, then we will talk more. But first!" He clapped his hands as suddenly a stack of neatly folded cloths appeared on the table, "Let us get you some proper clothing for this world."

Truth be told, I had forgotten what I had been wearing. I looked down and saw a pair of swim trunks that were dark blue with a large hibiscus design on the left side. "Ya know, shit hit the fan so fast, I kinda forgotten that I was relaxing on a beach in Hawaii before I came here." I laughed to cover up my embarrassment.

* * *

They guided me to a separate room down one of the hallways leading out of the main area. One thing that I noticed is that none of the doorways had any doors on them, only hanging curtains of velvet. We stopped in front of a room that had a bunk bed on the left side, a desk on the right as well as a small desk right next to the door.

Igor handed me the clothes and said "Margaret will lead you back when you are ready." He glanced at Margaret who nodded back. After that he turned on his heel and walked away.

"I can't help but feel sadness coming from him." I mentioned offhandedly.

The blonde woman by my side sighed. "He has been through a lot recently." I got the impression that suddenly Margaret was feeling the same sadness that Igor exudes. She sighed again and then looked at me with warmth again. "Come, let us get you changed."

This time I am pretty sure that my whole body went red. "Us?" I asked as she guided me into the room.

* * *

I am not going to lie. I was kind of disappointed that something didn't happen. Turns out that she was just teasing me, which isn't fun for me because part of me honestly likes it when a girl sort of takes charge and initiates something, but she was just doing it to get a reaction out of me. Though, it was impressive that she could do it with such a straight face and barely give more than a slight seductive smirk.

In truth, she was just there to explain the finer details of the clothing. They are all flame resistant, aqua-phobic, and isolated against both cold and electricity. The shoes had more grips on them than normal shoes in case of slippery ground from a spill. The design of the clothes was similar in fashion to Margaret's. There was a button up shirt that was a baby blue color, and the vest was sapphire blue on the front but black on the back and had four gold rimmed, blue buttons, similar to Margaret's dress, but only down the right side with a breast pocket on the left. The pants were black slacks with a blue stripe down the right side, which bothered me a bit because it wasn't down the left side as well. The Shoes were literal Blue Suede Shoes. I was just super thankful that she gave me black socks and a black leather belt to go with it all. But perhaps the thing that bothered me the most was the boxers, which were bright blue with some kind of snow boy printed on them.

After she was done explaining the clothes, Margaret went and stood outside the room's curtain. I tried to not think about her watching me as I changed, even though I secretly like being spied upon, and changed into the clothes without taking too much time. Once I was ready, I exited the room and asked the blonde woman if they had any weapons for me to borrow. I had a feeling that I was going to need them.


	2. Meetings

"Ok... Time to make this work" I muttered to myself. "Remember Keiy, we are back to the basics. So no flashy bull shit." Which is entirely outside of my style and even I couldn't help think _"Yeah, right. Like that is ever going to fucking happen."_

I was standing atop of a spire looking down on a triad of shadows, each of which looked like a blue drama mask dropped in a pile of sludge. Somehow I managed to get outside the Maze that was apparently a section of the Shadow World just for me. _"You will need to avoid this place for a while. It is based off of your soul and, while you might feel powerless right now, your soul is still immense."_ Igor had said. _"Avoid fighting ANYTHING until you are outside."_

According to the strange man, shadows are pulled to places that share similar power or at the very least strength. The areas between the, shall we say, Active True Selves, are actually home to rather weak shadows, like the ones that I am facing now. This area served as my training session until I recovered shards of my power that have been entrapped in the form of cards.

I have to gather all 52 cards up before my power can be restored, and right now, I only have two. These cards apparently take the same form of the Clow Cards, but are much more violent. Thankfully the two cards that I have are the Sword card, which allows me to make a sword out of nothing, and the Shot card, which allows me to use bursts of energy. The latter is the one that I start off with.

Calling the power of the Shot, I pulled energy into my hands and cupped them into a vaguely diamond shape. Once there was a glow in between my hands, I pushed forward with all of my might, shooting the energy at one of the Shadows. Instantly, the energy shot forward like a shooting star and incinerated the first Shadow. The feeling that it left though was interesting. It was like someone just covered both my chest and my arms in icy hot, and then made my limbs slightly heavier. _"If you summon something to use energy attacks with then your body will feel tired."_ Igor had explained. " _Summoning something Physical will cause harm to the body."_ Those were the rules that he stated, and until the powers were truly mine again, I was using summons.

The remaining two Shadows looked up at me and screeched. I tried to gather up energy again for the shot, faster this time, but it wasn't as strong. It took two shots for me to take down the second Shadow. I knew that I couldn't shoot the third shadow at this range, it would be a point blank shot and the blasts tend to be a bit explosive.

I focused on my other power that I had, and pulled out a short rapier who's blade as only as long as my arm. Instantly I felt a small scrape form along the back of my left hand, but only gave it as much thought as it would take to say "fuck" under my breath. I took the winding path down the roofing that led me to the highest point of the spire as fast as I could. I knew that the Shadow was faster. _And it can fly so that is a thing._ Oh did I forget to mention that? Yeah that blob can fucking fly. Which makes most people freak the fuck out. Like I am doing right now.

Now I pride myself for being fast, but that is only when I have my full power. Normal I would be able to move so fast that it seemed like time slowed down, and this walkway down the spire would be rather simple because I would feel like I could take my time. But this isn't a normal situation, and I am very far from fully powered. In fact, if I was fully powered, I would have blinked and those things would be splattered all over the ground. Instead, I get bit.

Somehow when it caught up to me, it morphed part of that slimy sludge body into something resembling a mouth and clamped down on my right arm. While I am glad that it wasn't my left because that was the one with the sword, it still hurt like hell. I could see the blood flowing quite freely from the wound as I swiped at the Shadow.

Unfortunately for me, not only did I miss, but I also tripped and tumbled down the rest of the tower and onto the ground down below. Fortunately for me someone made a gust of wind that broke my fall. At least I thought it was a gust of wind. I couldn't really tell because I felt like I was blacking out.

* * *

I was somewhere else. Not in the Shadow World like I was before. I was a child, struggling to find the words to talk to his crush. Then I blinked, and was a bird flying through the sky.

 _Something is not right here._ I though to myself. I blinked again and this time I was sitting on a branch of the great tree Yggdrasil. I looked out and saw a few of the other nine worlds, I looked down and saw a large serpent twisting it's way through the roots, and I looked behind me only to see a squirrel rush past me. _How the Hell...?_ I couldn't even finish the thought.

 _You are dreaming._

I couldn't tell if it was a voice or not. I quickly stood up to see who had said it, if anyone had actually said it, and lost my footing. I saw branches swiftly rush past me as I fell down and could hear a groaning in the distance. Suddenly the maw of the serpent was in front of me. It had teeth like a sharks, the face of a snake, and fur and quills going down it's back. All six of it's eyes were blind and it lacked a tongue. But the most terrifying thing about it was the teeth and the stench of it's breath. It smelled of rotting flesh and in between it's teeth was piles of bodies, some squirming and barely alive, others screaming for help as they tried to crawl out of this terrible place, many more were dead. They looked like all sorts of creatures, some human, others nothing close. I was terrified for my life as I fell toward the giant mouth.

And then I was sitting in a classroom in my underwear as Margaret was trying to teach a class about advanced physics in an outfit that was much too revealing. I could feel myself heating up as I tried to awkwardly hide myself from everyone's gaze.

 _"Keiy, would you mind showing what you have hidden to the class?"_ Margaret said in a coy voice.

I awkwardly was trying to explain to her that I couldn't because I was seat belted to the chair but all that would come out was something that sounded like a peacock's call. _WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!_

 _You are dreaming._

There it was, that voice again. "What?" I asked.

 _You are dreaming,_ the voice said again, though it sounded more like it was in my head that an actual voice. _Relax and you will see me._

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves as well as end my embarrassment. And then another with my eyes closed. On the third breath I opened my eyes. I was still in the classroom but now there was only one other person there. She had long hair like silk, a small smile, a body similar to Margaret's but instead her body was draped in lavender and purple. He had an ornate but rather large head dress that actually covered her eyes and her ears. I couldn't help but think of a bishop chess piece as I looked at her.

 _I am the Dream,_ She explained, _I grant insight to those who wander into my realm. I can be the voice of the gods, a blessing of romantics, and a curse to all souls. I can show terror and lust. I can reveal the darkest secrets and give flight to the greatest fantasies._ While saying this, the classroom changed to many different things such as a depiction of Hell, as well as a sensual hot spring filled with many women. _This is my power, will you accept me my lord?_ The Dream asked, _My king?_

I swallowed hard but nodded while keeping eye contact, at least I pretended to have eye contact through the head dress that she was wearing. The elegant lady curtsied, and kissed my lips gently. _Then wake up._

* * *

There were about five people standing around me speaking an asian dialect but my head was kinda foggy so I didn't know that it was Japanese until I really came to. The bite on my arm was also gone, something that I was very thankful of, but it was still a little sore.

As I came to, one of them helped me up, while probably saying something along the lines of "hey are you ok?" but that was just guesswork. Once I was standing I had to make sure that I wasn't dreaming again. I turned to the person who helped me up, a muscular blond punk, and rolled a few strands between my fingertips. I wanted to make sure that I had all of my senses, but also that my senses weren't just being tricked. The blond started to yell something as I went to the next guy, a brown haired fellow with a goofy grin, and flicked him on the forehead. _Well the blond's hair was unusually soft, and this chum's head was unusually hard,_ I thought to myself _, now for one last test._

There were a trio of girls talking and making comments, probably about what I was doing, one was fair skinned with black hair and a formal posture, the other was a shorter girl with sandy blond to light brown hair and was slightly chubbier, something that I rather liked, but the third girl was probably the best for what I was going to do. She had darker brown hair tied back into pigtails, but her body was like that of a pop star or teen idol. Her breasts were perky in a way that was either because of a special bra or because they were fake.

I pursed my lips to one side as I examined them one by one, but the idol would have given me the best reaction. At least that was my guess. I walked up to her and, while maintaining eye contact, groped on of those perky breasts. Turns out, it was the work of a really good bra. Also, she has one mean right hook. There was only a moment of embarrassment and shock that passed over her face, and before anyone could say or do anything, she had slapped or punched me so hard it left me sprawled a few feet away.

I know that the guys were about to start wailing on me and the girls were cursing me out, but I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh thank gods!" I exclaimed, "This isn't a dream!"

"Ah. Excuse me." Someone said very formally. "Why did you do that?" Their accent was hard as it was obviously not their first language.

The person looked like a boy, but my not so human nose picked up the sent of a girl coming from this person. They were scowling at me, and again I couldn't help but laugh.

"Two reasons. The first was because I needed to make sure that I wasn't dreaming." I answered, "The second was because I wanted to see how she would react." The person's scowling got deeper. "Don't worry kid, I am not going to do that anytime soon." They weren't convinced, but they translated for the rest of the group what I had said. I could already tell that their first impression of me was bad, but I didn't care. As far as I had planned, I wasn't going to be hanging around them for long. I got up and began to walk away before I heard a shout from behind me.

The blond guy grabbed me and spun me around, shouting something in my face. After he was done I leaned around him and looked at the only one that I knew who could translate English, giving him my best "What did he say?" eyebrow raise.

"He wants to know where you are going." The blue haired person said.

"Away to not cause any trouble." I said, again being translated by the kid.

I brushed off the blond's grip and began to walk away, my thoughts preoccupied with trying to figure out how to use the new clow card I had obtained.

* * *

It really wasn't long before the new group started to follow me. _Great,_ I thought, _An Entourage._ I tried to ignore them but they weren't exactly making it easy with their loud chatter.

After a while I couldn't take it anymore. I was wanting to concentrate but it was impossible with the sound of Japanese students behind me. I stopped for a moment waiting to see what they would do.

They slowed to a stop about ten feet behind me and hushed their voices to a whisper. One voice, one of the guys who was obviously the ring leader, was the one that kept them quiet for a few moments, until I started to move again.

We did this two or three more times before I just spun on them. "What do you guys want?" I shouted.

A white haired boy stepped forward with a smirk. "To see what trouble you will cause." His English was as good as the blue haired kid that was translating for me before. He carried himself like a proud honor student, but not like one that was hunched over from struggling with studies. He had an air of leadership about him that also gave the feeling of respect will be given where respect is due. Even his stone grey eyes had an honest and trustworthy look to him. Compared to the others he practically shone with a power. _I see why he is the leader now_ , I thought as I inspected him. Even his answer was lighthearted, and kinda made me smile.

"Wanata.. Wa... Keiy-desu." I struggled with the only Japanese phrase that I knew, and I still feel like I said it wrong. I gave a low bow and turned to walk farther ahead but didn't keep the pace as brisk as I was. _If they were going to follow, best if I don't make it hard on them._

* * *

Much to my surprise, we didn't encounter many other shadows. We saw a few that were slinking off to darker parts and a few that outright fled from us. Most of them looking like puddles with blue drama masks in them. I didn't talk to them much, it was too much struggle to try to figure out what they were saying and I didn't want to be mean and force them to talk in English just for my sake. Mostly they just talked between themselves, and only talked to me if they needed to.

This went on for several hours before they were tired of walking. I assumed that their day started long before mine or that they just didn't have my stamina. _Why would they?_ I thought to myself, _they are humans._

We found a clearing that allowed us to see our surroundings pretty well. There was some decaying wood nearby from a shack that we looted for supplies. Apparently the group that I was now traveling with was adept at finding food and supplies in this shadow realm, and once again I wondered how long they had been down here for.

The food was heated canned beans and a few sodas. While the group was talking among themselves, Narukami, the white haired boy who was leading them, excused himself to the near by shack. It was only out of curiosity that I turned and happened to see him pull out a blue key and put into the door of the shack as if to unlock it. Except the door changed with a flash as he unlocked it and entered. Then just as quickly as it changed, it was back to the original door.

I thought about asking one of the others about it but they obviously didn't notice. Either that or they were use to it. So instead I focused on the three clow cards that I had gathered. The Dream materialized beside me, resting on my shoulder while she silently watched everyone behind her ornate head dress.

The Shot appeared standing next to me. It looked like a child that would belong in a circus. It was impossible to tell if it was a boy or a girl, but it wore a skin tight body suit with boots and gloves and flared into a star like cuffs, as well as the same star like shape around it's shoulders. It had had long platinum hair that reached down to it's knees that had a gold streak going down the middle of it. It's arms were crossed as it scowled at me.

The Sword was an ornate golden rapier, though it seemed shorter that most rapiers. The hand guard was comprised of two criss-crossing wings that were topped with a ruby. Despite my love for different swords and an utter disdain for rapiers, this sword felt perfect in my hand and filled me with ease.

Not sure if I had actually summoned them or if they were just sort of half-here, I looked up. Everyone was continuing with their conversations as normal, so I again assumed that they didn't notice or were use to it.

 **You need to be careful when you use us.** The Shot said. Well less said and more echoed in my head. **Next time you might not be so lucky to have someone save your sorry ass.**

 _The Shot is right you know._ This time it was The Sword, and it felt like it was stinging and whistling in my hand and piercing my head with each word. _You are too use to obliterating things in one go, but you can't do that right now. Work on a smaller scale to keep yourself alive._

 **No more of this one hit kill bull shit.** I could tell that The Shot was angry, or at least frustrated, with my risky actions. **Not until you are much stronger.**

"What is your take on all of this?" I asked The Dream.

I could feel her look at me through her mask like crown. _I am not active, I watch and enjoy people's day dreams._ Her voice was more like a whisper in my head. _But caution is always a safe bet, unless..._ She let her voice trail off as a vision of the giant serpent's maw appeared behind the group. I could tell that she was making me relive that dream to prove a point.

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light and Narukami rejoined the group, and like that the connection between my clow cards was lost, taking the vision of the world eater with it.

* * *

It wasn't long after that everyone decided that they would rest. The girls curled up together as the boys talked for a bit longer. Once everyone was asleep, my lovely curiosity got the better of me. As quietly as I could, I stood up and looked around for a good target. I saw the blue haired boy shiver and clench up as if having a bad dream. I carefully made my way over to him and put my hand over his head but didn't touch him. I called forth The Dream and asked to see what the kid was dreaming.

But before I could finish my request, the big blond guy whispered angerly at me, probably asking what I was doing. Figuring that it would be easier to show rather than try to play the translating game, I asked The Dream if she could show us both what the boy was dreaming. I felt her nod and then, like a whipsy cloud of smoke, an image appeared. It was the boy caught in an invisible cage as an ocean made of darkness was rushing into the image, threatening to drown her. It was apparent that neither the blond nor myself was liking what we were seeing.

"Can you change this?" I whispered to The Dream. Again she nodded and slowly the dream changed from a nightmare of drowning in darkness to a relaxing sauna. As the dream changed, the tension eased out of the boy we were standing over.

I looked up to the boy to see him staring in wonder. It looked like he was going to thank me for a moment when suddenly he tensed up. He shouted out "Shadow!" and then went about to try and wake everyone up. But my ears were picking up something interesting, as he was trying to get everyone ready for the ambush that was looming over my shoulder, it sounded like a mix between English and Japanese. He looked back at me and shouted in perfect English "What are you waiting for, hit them!"

It shocked me enough to focus on the new foes but not enough to stun me from the shock. I turned and formed my hand into a diamond and shot a quick blast at the first target I saw. It was a larger than normal Flying Face, and it got a mouthful of energy from my attack and dissolved into smoke. It barely took anything out of me to do it, which was a good thing. The bad thing was that there were about twenty more of them and several larger coming closer.

I felt something stir inside me as I began to glow. I couldn't think of anything else to do so I shouted at the top of my lungs "BOOM!: It echoed like a thunderclap that had struck near by. For a moment the Shadows scurried back and tried to flee the large noise, but they recovered very quickly.

Behind me there were some shouts of surprise as my echoing voice woke people up. All of them were in English as if they were being perfectly translated. In any other moment I would have questioned it more, but after years of fighting I knew that it wasn't the right time to think about such things. The larger Shadows in the background were getting closer.

Narukami was the first to respond. He summoned a large masked figure in a trench coat with a pole arm that struck down several shadows. "Yosuke, Hurry up and use Jiraiya!"

The Brown haired boy brought out his summon. I couldn't help but think that it looked like Dead Maus3 a little bit. It was in a white disco outfit with shuriken eyes and what I thought was a boomerang for a collar. This humanoid summon, Jiraiya apparently, snapped it's fingers and green winds tore a few more shadows to shreds.

I could tell the rest were about to summon their own creatures but if they did we would be caught for sure. "Don't fight just run!" I ordered as I noticed the large shadows getting much too close for comfort.

Right before we did though, the Idol piped up. "We can't! Teddie is over there!" I looked to where she was pointing and groaned. _Of Course it had to be toward the large Shadows!_


End file.
